Heel-seat fitting machine



Nov. 23, 1937. s, MEGATHUN 2,099,698

HEEL SEAT FITTING MACHINE Fi led Aug. 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 23, 1937. R. s. MEGATHLIN HEEL SEAT FITTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet L2 Filed Aug. 15, 1935 'II/IIIII'IIIIIIII Patented Nov. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEEL-SEAT FITTING MACHINE Application August 15, 1935, Serial No. 36,345

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is illustrated as embodied in a heelseat fitting machine.

In United States Letters Patent No. 2,072,900, granted March 9, 1937, in my name, there is disclosed a shoe having a sole provided with a pair of heel-breast receiving shoulders, the inner portions of which are substantially complemental to portions of the breast of a Cuban heel to be attached to the shoe and the outer or edge portions of which project rearwardly of the sole from the inner portions. Preparatory to attaching the heel to the shoe the breast corners of the heel are forced forwardly of the shoe against the rearwardly projecting outer portions of the heelbreast receiving shoulders to cause such portions to be forced or bent forwardly so that the breast of the heel engages the complemental inner portions of the heel-breast receiving shoulders. With the above construction permanently closed joints are formed between the breast corners of the heel and the heel-breast receiving shoulders, the edges of the sole at the rear end of the shank being effectively supported by the heel against drooping away from the shoe upper.

To facilitate the cutting of such heel-breast receiving shoulders, and in accordance with a feature of this invention, the illustrated heelseat fitting machine is provided with a pair of knives movable in paths disposed at substantial angles to the general plane of the sole of a shoe supported in the machine, and shaped to form upon the sole a pair of heel-breast receiving shoulders of the character above described. These shoulder-forming knives are illustrated as embodied in a heel-seat fitting machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,053,295, granted September 8, 1936, on an application filed in the name of Fred L. Mac- Kenzie.

When reducing the heel-seat portions of soles attached to shoes by means of machines of the general type disclosed in the above-mentioned United States Letters Patent No. 2,053,295 it occasionally happens that one or more of the lasting tacks at the heel seat are not properly driven into the overlasted counter portion of the shoe upper and therefore extend across the path of movement of the heel-seat reducing knife of the machine thereby nicking the cutting edge of the knife as it moves forwardly to reduce the heelseat portion of the sole. With the above considerations in view and in accordance with another feature of this invention the illustrated machine is provided with a shoe positioning gage for moving the shoe upper transversely of the path of movement of the heel-seat reducing knife, thus insuring that improperly driven last- These and other'features of the invention will be described as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view partly in section, of portions of a heel-seat fitting machine em- 10 bodying the present invention;

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are perspective views showing an improved knife for forming heel-breast'receivirig shoulders such as above described;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a work-positioning portionof the machine;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are vertical sections showing a portion of the machine with work presented thereto during three successive stages of the heelseat fitting operation;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the heel end of an inverted shoe which has been operated upon by the illustrated machine;

Fig. 10 is a detail plan view partly in section, on an enlarged scale, showing a heel being forced 25 into its proper position upon the sole of the shoe preparatory to attaching the heel to the shoe; and I Fig. 11.is a perspective view of the rear end of an inverted shoe after the heel has been at- 30 tached thereto but before the edges of the sole of the shoehave been trimmed flush with the sides of the heel.

The illustrated machine is described with reference to forming heel-breast receiving shoulders 29 (Figs. 9 and 10) and reducing the heelseat portion 22 (Fig. 9) of a sole 24 which is attached to a shoe 26. Such a heel-seat construction is'disclosed and claimed in the abovementioned United States Letters Patent No. 2,072,900. The heel-breast receiving shoulders 20 comprise inner portions or faces 28 which are substantially complemental to opposing areas of the breast of a heel 29 (Fig. 11) attached to the shoe, and also comprise reversely curved portions 30 extending rearwardly of the sole 24 and to.- ward corresponding edges 32 of the same. The faces 30, together with extensions 34 of the heelbreast receiving shoulders 20, form projections 35 at the outer ends of the shoulders.

Preparatory to attaching the heel 29 to the shoe 26 the breast corners of the heel are forced against the faces 30 (Fig. 10) thereby causing the projections 36 to be compressed or forced forwardly and toward the shoe upper so that the 55 which terminates in close proximity to the bot- 70 V v l 50. The presserunit 12 is carried by a housing 14; an extension 16 (Figs. 6 and '1) of which slides V within a boss 18 'of the machine frame.

breast of 'the' heel engages the inner faces 28 of the heel-breast receiving shoulders 20. With the above construction the edges 32 of the sole 24 are effectively supported .by the heel against drooping away from the shoe upper.

As the heel 29 is moved forwardly of the sole the projections 36 are forced toward the shoe upper as above described since the breast 40 of the equal distances toward and away from the median plane46 ofthe carrier 44 by turning a Tsc'rew48jT' The heel-seat portion 22 of the sole of the shoe 7 is supported upon a plate 50 constructed; and arranged to be positioned within the rand crease of the shoe, the forward part of the shoe being held by the operator, The shoe is positioned widthwise and lengthwise in the machine by centralizing and back gages 52, 54, respectively; The centrali zing gage 52and the back gage 54 are slidable along guideways ofthe'main fi ame of the machine and areurged under spring pressure to their forward positions shown in Fig. 1' when the shoe is removed from the machine. The shoe is centralized by bifurcations 56 of the centralizing gage 52 as it is forced rearwardly in the machine and forces'theback gage 54 into contact with a stop slide 60. The stop slide 60 is moved rearwardly under pressure of the shoe until a depending portion 8| of the slide engages a spiral cam 6 2 (Fig. llwhich is automatically swung to a predetermined p sition by a. heel in a heel gage (not shown). The shoerpositioning mechanism,

7 including mechanism for operatively connecting the heel gage and the sp ral cam 62, is described in detail in the above-mentioned United States Letters Patent'Nor 2,053,295 and therefore need not be more fully described herein.

The crease plate 50 has a U-shaped opening 64 (Fig. l) and a. bevel-face '66, theilower edgeof tom face of the crease plate 50. The illustrated machine is of the type inwhich the margin of'the heel-seat portion of the sole is distorted with relation to the central part of the. heel-seat portion 1 while a knife 68 moves forwardly along the bottom of, the face of the crease plate 50to trim and reduce the'heel-seat portion of the sole by a beveling cut thereby providing a beveled margin '10 (Fig. 9)

Prior toforcing the central part'of the heelseat portion'of the sole through the opening 64 the margin of the heel-seat portion of the sole is clamped against the'bevel-face 66 of the plate 58 by a presser unit 12. The presser unit 12 preferably comprises a plurality of relatively movable parts and is constructed an'd arranged to clamp the margin of the heel-seat portion of a sole of non-uniform thickness against the plate The presser"unit12 is operated bya treadle (not shown) which is operatively connected to a lever (Fig. 6) pivotally connected to a coupling 82 'by a link 84. The coupling 82 is in threaded en- I agement with a rod 88 to the lower end of which 7 a bulger 88 is secured. The presser unit 12 is yieldingly forced against the sole through a spring '90 (Fig. 6) whichis enclosed within a casing'92 secured to the rod 86, the upper end of the spring engaging the casing 92 and the lower end of the spring engaging the upper end of the extension 16 of the'housing 14. When the treadle is first depressed the presser unit'12 forces the margin .of the heel-seat portion of the sole against the bevel-face 66 of the plate. 50. Further downward movement of the treadle causes the bulger 88 to force the central part of the heel-seat porthebottom face of the plate 50. The sole-engaging face of the bulger'88 in its lowered position (Figs 7 and 8) is locatedjust above the bottom face of the plate 50 in order to insure that the heel-seat reducing knife 68 which moves forwardly of the sole in a fixed path shall not engage the bulger. I V

In order to insure that the knivesr42 may replace corresponding knives used in the machine disclosed in the above-mentioned United States Letters Patent No." 2,053,295 shanks 94 of the 'tion of the sole through the opening 64 and below shoulder-forming knives 42 aresubstantially iden- .tical with the shanks of shoulder-formingknives .of'snch machine, In order to form theheelbreast receiving shoulders 20 the shoulder-forming knives 42 are miovedin paths disposed at substantial angles to the general plane of the sole.

The bulger 88 is movedf downwardly with' the shoulder-forming knives 42 which have a slight lead over the bulger and form the. heel-breast 1 receiving, shoulders Whilethe forward endof the heel-seat portion ofthe sole is substantially flat widthwise. The vknives 42 may be referred to as chisel-shaped blades and are provided with cutare curved thicknesswise of the blade and form the inner faces 28 of theheel-breastreceiving shoulders, the inner faces 28 being, substantially complemental to opposing heel breast areas with which they engage. The cutting edges of the knives 42 are also provided with outer portions '40 ting edges comprising inner portions 96 which which comprise reversely curved portions 98 forforming the faces. 38, and extensions I00 which,

together with the reversely curved portions'98,

form the projections 36 atthe outer ends of heelbreast receiving shoulders 20; The reversely curved portions 880i the cutting edges have the generalforrn 'of a relatively flat ogee curve and extend rearwardly and toward corresponding edges of the sole fromi the inner'portions 96of the cutting edges. The extensions IOU-of the cutting edgesjof the knives 42 "are'usually of considerable length to insure that U.-shaped chips trimmed from the heel-seat portions of wide from the soles.

As above stated, the breast corners of the'h'eel are forced forwardly of the shoe against the faces 39 (Fig. 10) of theheel-breast receiving shoulders preparatory to attaching the heel 29 to the shoe and compress or force the projections 35' forwardly of and toward the shoe upper'so that the breast 48 of the heel engages the inner faces 28. The reversely curved portions 98 of the cutting edges of the knives are preferably of suiiicient length to accommodate a run of heels without soles by thelknife 88 shall be completely severed e having to adjust the 'knives42 toward-or away from each other. After the heel 29 has been permanently secured to the shoe 26 the edges 32 of the sole are trimmed along lines I02 (Fig. 11) flush with the sides of the heel. The inner portions 28 of the heel-breast receiving shoulders 20 may be described as extending forwardly of the sole as they approach corresponding edges 32 of the sole, and the reversely curved portions 33 may be said to extend rearwardly of the sole as they approach corresponding edges 32 of the sole. The inner and the reversely curved portions 96, 98, respectively, of the cutting edge of the knife 42 may also be described as being humped in opposite directions thioknesswise of the blade, the inner portion 96 being concave forwardly of the sole and the reversely curved portion 98 being concave rearwardly of the sole. The reversely curved portion 98 of each of the cutting edges is angularly disposed with relation to the adjacent end of the inner portion 96 of the cutting edge and forms a salient portion therewith.

Occasionally one or more heel-seat lasting tacks I04 (Fig. 9) of the shoe are not properly driven. These incompletely driven tacks are ordinarily hidden from the view of the operator by the sole and are likely to nick the cutting edge I06 (Fig. 1) of the heel-seat reducing knife 68. In order to insure that improperly driven heel-seat lasting tacks I04 shall not be engaged by the cutting edge I06 of the cutter, the back gage 54 has a shoe-engaging portion I08 which is depressed by the leading bevel-surface I09 of the knife 68 during the heel-seat reducing operation and which swings the rear end of the shoe about the forward end of the crease plate 50 and away from the path of movement of the knife (Figs. '7 and 8). In order to guide the shoe-engaging portion I08 of the back gage 54 in a fixed path disposed at right angles to the path of movement of the heel-seat reducing knife 68, the shoe-engaging portion is provided with a T-shaped extension IIO (Figs. 1 and constructed and arranged to engage within a guideway III of the back gage. The shoe-engaging portion I08 of the back gage 54 is normally held in a raised position by a spring I I2 the upper end of which is secured to a pin I I4 and the lower end of which is secured to a pin II6 carried by the shoe-engaging portion I08 of the back gage.

In order to perform the heel-seat fitting operation the operator forces the inverted shoe heel-end first against the centralizing and back gages 52 and 54, respectively,-to position the heelseat portion of the sole widthwise and lengthwise upon the plate 50. The operator then depresses the treadle (not shown) thereby lowering the rod 05 to clamp the margin of the heel-seat portion of the sole against the bevel-face 66 of the plate 50 (Fig. 6). Continued depression of the treadle operates the knives 42 which form the heel-breast receiving shoulders 20 and also causes the bulger 88 which is carried. by the rod 06 to force the central part of the heel-seat portion of the sole through the opening 62 to the position shown in Fig. '7. The knife 68 is then automatically operated to'reduce the heel-seat portion of the sole. As the knife 68 moves forwardly its bevel-face I89 forces the shoe-engaging portion I08 of the back gage 54 downwardly. As the shoe-engaging portion I08 of the back gage is lowered (Figs. 7 and 8) the heel end of the shoe upper is forced away from the path of movement of the knife 68 thereby insuring that undriven tacks I04 upon the overlasted counter portion of the shoe upper shall not be engaged by the knife. The machine is preferably provided with a one-revolution clutch so that it comes to a stop after returning to starting position.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a heel-seat fitting machine, a support for the sole of a shoe, and chisel-shaped blades movable in paths disposed at substantial angles to the general plane of the sole and constructed and arranged to form heel-breast receiving shoulders upon the sole, each of said blades comprising an elongated curved inner cutting edge extending transversely of the sole and shaped to form an inner shoulder portion which is substantially compleinental to an opposing area of the breast of a heel to be attached to the shoe, each of said blades also comprising a short outer cutting edge which is reversely curved thicknesswise of the blade and extends rearwardly of the sole and toward the corresponding edge of the sole from the outer end of the inner cutting edge and is shaped to form an outer shoulder portion which is constructed and arranged to be forced forwardly by the heel so that the heel engages the inner portion of the shoulder.

2. In a heel-seat fitting machine, a support for a sole, and knives movable in paths disposed at substantial angles to the general plane of the sole and constructed and arranged to form heelbreast receiving shoulders upon the sole, each of said knives having a continuous cutting edge which comprises inner and outer portions offset lengthwise of the sole from each other and an intermediate portion extending rearwardly of and toward the corresponding edge of the sole from the inner portion of the cutting edge.

3. In a heel-seat fitting machine, a member constructed and arranged to be engaged by a sole, and a pair of chisel-shaped knives which are movable in paths disposed at substantial angles to the general plane of the sole and are constructed and arranged to form heel-breast receiving shoulders upon the sole, each of said knives having a cutting edge comprising an inner curved portion and an outer portion which is offset lengthwise of the sole from the outer end of said inner portion and is joined thereto by a reversely curved portion.

4. In a heel-seat fitting machine, a support for a sole, and blades movable in paths disposed at substantial angles to the general plane of the sole and constructed and arranged to form heelbreast receiving shoulders upon the sole, each of said blades being provided with a cutting edge having the general form of an ogee curve.

5. A heel-seat fitting machine having, in combination, a plate having an opening and constructed and arranged to be positioned between the sole and upper of a shoe, means for forcing the central part of the heel-seat portion of the sole through the opening and beyond a face of said plate, a heel-seat reducing knife movable forwardly of the sole along said face of the plate, and a member constructed and arranged to move the shoe upper away from the path of movement of the knife as the knife reduces the heel-seat portion of the sole.

6. In a heel-seat fitting machine, a plate having a U-shaped opening, said plate being constructed and arranged to support the heel-seat portion of a sole attached to a shoe upper, means including a gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by the rear end of the shoe upper for positioning the heel-seat portion of the sole upon the plate, means for forcing the central part of the heel-seat portion of the sole'through the opening and beyond a face of theplate, and a heelseat reducing knife which is in engagement with said face and is movable in a fixed path extending lengthwise of thesole, said gage being mounted for translatory movement in a fixed path disposed at a substantial angle to the path of movement of the knife to force" the rear end of the shoe upper away from the path of movement of V the knife during the heel-seat reducing operation.

7. A heel-seat fitting machine having, in combination, a crease plate,rmeans' for cooperating with the crease plate to distort the heel-seat por- 7 tion of a sole which is attached to a shoe upper and is supported by the plate, a heel-seat reducing knife movable in a fixed path, and aback gage contructed and arranged to be engaged by the rear end of the shoe upper, said back gage being movable under pressure of the knife to force the shoe upper away from the path of moveing the heel-seat reducing operation.

8. In a heel-seat fitting machine, a member for supporting the heel-seat portion of a sole attached to a shoe upper, means comprising a knife mova V ble in a fixed path and constructed and arranged to reduce the heel-seat portion of the sole for the reception of a heel, and a back gage for positioning the sole lengthwise uponrsaid member, said gage comprising a shoe-engaging portion'which is normally positioned in the path'of movement of the knife and is constructed and arranged to move the rear end of the shoe away from said path under pressure of the knife thereby insuring that the knife shall not engage undriven tacks in the overlasted counter portion of the shoe upper dur ing the heel -seat reducing operation.

20 RALPH S. MEGATHLIN. w 

